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1. |
Alex
04:07
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I was a bored little boy growing up in the Country, where paintwork flaked and Bluewood resin bled, surrounded by Beauty, but the grass was always greener in my head.
I had a book for a toy, Jesus walking on water, but I always liked the scary stories best, with God like a father who put His frightened children to the test.
Momma never got to call my name, but Poppa says she guides him all the same. He’s gonna drive a righteous path through half of Texas, and if my Daddy’s going places, I’m going too.
I make the same steady oath at a school in the City, but I never had to raise my voice before. I pledge to the Fifty and learn the history of the Civil War.
Something in my gut ain’t staying down, but Poppa says it’s poisonous, this town. He’s certain of much more than Death and Taxes, and if my Daddy says it’s right, it must be true.
It was the mud of my growth at the feet of the Century.
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2. |
The Ancient Greeks
03:51
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Johnny Wingo Crow, half-Caddo Indian kid, took me to the library one day, got me real stoned, said it’s time to blow the lid, and Higher Education is the way…
“Alexander the Great was a boy with the Night and the Day in his eyes. He was born in the age of the edgeless Earth. But his Poppa was always afraid that his Momma would lead him astray — Alexander was torn in half from birth.
“You bear your name out of the past, like a borrowed heirloom. They think of shame before you’re out of the womb!
“Ancient Greece was a treacherous place, kinda like the Confederate States. Men would die by the thousand for a cause. But they left us a great legacy, something nobody wants to believe — LOVE ITSELF IS AS MOTLEY AS THE GODS.
“You bear your name out of the past, like a borrowed heirloom. They think of shame before you’re out of the womb! Your restless mind flickers and glows, like a neon nimbus. Who needs Mt Sinai when ya got Mt Olympus?”
Johnny Wingo Crow, half-Caddo Indian kid, took me to the library one day, taught me what he knows, like nobody ever did, and under Johnny’s wing I’m gonna stay…
Johnny, what was that sound when you led me across town? Were you whistling a tune? ‘Cus I can still hear it in this silent room.
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3. |
A Sufi from Dixie
05:26
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There’s a rumour going round — Louise, you’re the talk of the town, ‘cus your Mother, the widow, converted, and the meek sure speak up when deserted. They say she’s trying to marry you off to some rag-headed boy in the North. And my Dad says your Mom must be crazy if she thinks that Mohammed’s the one, and I may be bad-mannered and lazy, but he’s sure glad that he had a son. Well I love you, Louise, and I’m asking you, please, be my Queen before their Kingdom comes.
We grew up short by a half of the love we’re entitled to have, and with Death shovelling coal in our hearts, I think we deserve a fresh start. Well I asked Johnny for his two cents, but I wish that he’d stayed on the fence, ‘cus he said that a Sufi from Dixie is a hundred and ten percent dumb. Then he took from my dresser this picture, and likened the memory of Mom to your child-bearing hips, so I split his fucking lip, now he promises not to make fun of my Queen, until their Kingdom comes.
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4. |
Disgrace
04:06
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Running away from the home where I got caught asleep in the arms of the boy my boredom brought. But Johnny’s not a boy — he’s a bird, and I like his song. And no matter what you heard, our harmonies ain’t wrong.
The sound of the car in the driveway made me stir, and half in a dream I heard a Hellcat purr. The footsteps on the stairs were like bombs falling far away, but I woke up with my Dad stood over where we lay.
“Such a disgrace — his only son is in love with another man.”
Johnny says Texas was over anyhow, and maybe it’s true this was only the testing ground. If the Garden ain’t for us, it’s in loss that our lot is cast. And we’ll get to New Orleans if we have to steal a raft!
(I’m sorry, Louise, but I can’t settle down till I know who I am, and for that I have to…)
“Such a disgrace — his only son is in love with another man.”
Running away from the home where I got caught asleep in the arms of the boy my boredom brought. But Johnny’s not a boy — he’s a bird, and he’s Heaven-sent. And no matter what you heard… we’re innocent.
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HUCK Oxford, UK
Humphrey ‘Huck’ Astley | Singer with The Xander Band, The Handsome Fee, et al | New solo EP coming 2020 ✌️🤞
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